For purposes of calculating risk-weighted assets under subparts D and E of this part:

(a)Cleared transaction. In order to recognize certain exposures as cleared transactions pursuant to paragraphs (1)(ii), (iii) or (iv) of the definition of “cleared transaction” in § 217.2, the exposures must meet the applicable requirements set forth in this paragraph (a).

(2) The collateral supporting the transaction must be held in a manner that prevents the Board-regulated institution from facing any loss due to an event of default, including from a liquidation, receivership, insolvency, or similar proceeding of either the clearing member or the clearing member's other clients. Omnibus accounts established under 17 CFR parts 190 and 300 satisfy the requirements of this paragraph (a).

(3) The Board-regulated institution must conduct sufficient legal review to conclude with a well-founded basis (and maintain sufficient written documentation of that legal review) that in the event of a legal challenge (including one resulting from a default or receivership, insolvency, liquidation, or similar proceeding) the relevant court and administrative authorities would find the arrangements of paragraph (a)(2) of this section to be legal, valid, binding and enforceable under the law of the relevant jurisdictions.

(4) The offsetting transaction with a clearing member must be transferable under the transaction documents and applicable laws in the relevant jurisdiction(s) to another clearing member should the clearing member default, become insolvent, or enter receivership, insolvency, liquidation, or similar proceedings.

(b)Eligible margin loan. In order to recognize an exposure as an eligible margin loan as defined in § 217.2, a Board-regulated institution must conduct sufficient legal review to conclude with a well-founded basis (and maintain sufficient written documentation of that legal review) that the agreement underlying the exposure:

(2) Is legal, valid, binding, and enforceable under applicable law in the relevant jurisdictions.

(c)Qualifying cross-product master netting agreement. In order to recognize an agreement as a qualifying cross-product master netting agreement as defined in § 217.101, a Board-regulated institution must obtain a written legal opinion verifying the validity and enforceability of the agreement under applicable law of the relevant jurisdictions if the counterparty fails to perform upon an event of default, including upon receivership, insolvency, liquidation, or similar proceeding.

(ii) In the event of a legal challenge (including one resulting from default or from receivership, insolvency, liquidation, or similar proceeding) the relevant court and administrative authorities would find the agreement to be legal, valid, binding, and enforceable under the law of the relevant jurisdictions; and

(2) Establish and maintain written procedures to monitor possible changes in relevant law and to ensure that the agreement continues to satisfy the requirements of the definition of qualifying master netting agreement in § 217.2.

(e)Repo-style transaction. In order to recognize an exposure as a repo-style transaction as defined in § 217.2, a Board-regulated institution must conduct sufficient legal review to conclude with a well-founded basis (and maintain sufficient written documentation of that legal review) that the agreement underlying the exposure:

(2) Is legal, valid, binding, and enforceable under applicable law in the relevant jurisdictions.

(f)Failure of a QCCP to satisfy the rule's requirements. If a Board-regulated institution determines that a CCP ceases to be a QCCP due to the failure of the CCP to satisfy one or more of the requirements set forth in paragraphs (2)(i) through (2)(iii) of the definition of a QCCP in § 217.2, the Board-regulated institution may continue to treat the CCP as a QCCP for up to three months following the determination. If the CCP fails to remedy the relevant deficiency within three months after the initial determination, or the CCP fails to satisfy the requirements set forth in paragraphs (2)(i) through (2)(iii) of the definition of a QCCP continuously for a three-month period after remedying the relevant deficiency, a Board-regulated institution may not treat the CCP as a QCCP for the purposes of this part until after the Board-regulated institution has determined that the CCP has satisfied the requirements in paragraphs (2)(i) through (2)(iii) of the definition of a QCCP for three continuous months.

Title 12 published on 2014-01-01

The following are only the Rules published in the Federal Register after the published date of Title 12.

For a complete list of all Rules, Proposed Rules, and Notices view the Rulemaking tab.

This interim final rule is effective January 30, 2015. Comments on the interim final rule must be received on or before March 5, 2015. Comments on the Paperwork Reduction Act burden estimates must be received on or before April 6, 2015.

12 CFR Part 217

Summary

The Board invites comment on an interim final rule that would exempt savings and loan holding companies that have total consolidated assets of less than $500 million and meet certain other requirements from the Board's regulatory capital requirements (Regulation Q). This interim final rule implements a law recently passed by the U.S. Congress, which exempts small savings and loan holding companies from the minimum capital requirements mandated by section 171 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that would meet the Board's Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement if they were bank holding companies. In connection with this interim final rule, the Board is proposing to remove the requirement that qualifying savings and loan holding companies complete Schedule SC-R, Part I (Regulatory Capital Components and Ratios), of form FR Y-9SP (Parent Company Only Financial Statements for Small Holding Companies).

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Interim final rule with request for comment.

This rule is effective on January 1, 2015. Comments must be received on or before March 3, 2015.

12 CFR Parts 3 and 50

Summary

The OCC and Board (collectively, the agencies) invite comment on an interim final rule that amends the definition of “qualifying master netting agreement” under the regulatory capital rules, and the liquidity coverage ratio rule, as well as under the lending limits rule applicable to national banks and Federal savings associations. The agencies also are proposing to amend the definitions of “collateral agreement,” “eligible margin loan,” and “repo-style transaction” under the regulatory capital rules. The amendments are designed to ensure that the regulatory capital, liquidity, and lending limits treatment of certain financial contracts is not affected by implementation of special resolution regimes in foreign jurisdictions or by the International Swaps and Derivative Association Resolution Stay Protocol.

In May 2014, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the agencies) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR or proposed rule) to revise the definition of the denominator of the supplementary leverage ratio (total leverage exposure) that the agencies adopted in July 2013 as part of comprehensive revisions to the agencies' regulatory capital rules (2013 revised capital rule). The agencies are adopting the proposed rule as final (final rule) with certain revisions and clarifications based on comments received on the proposed rule. The final rule revises total leverage exposure as defined in the 2013 revised capital rule to include the effective notional principal amount of credit derivatives and other similar instruments through which a banking organization provides credit protection (sold credit protection); modifies the calculation of total leverage exposure for derivative and repo-style transactions; and revises the credit conversion factors applied to certain off-balance sheet exposures. The final rule also changes the frequency with which certain components of the supplementary leverage ratio are calculated and establishes the public disclosure requirements of certain items associated with the supplementary leverage ratio. The final rule applies to all banks, savings associations, bank holding companies, and savings and loan holding companies (banking organizations) that are subject to the agencies' advanced approaches risk-based capital rules, as defined in the 2013 revised capital rule (advanced approaches banking organizations), including advanced approaches banking organizations that are subject to the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards that the agencies finalized in May 2014 (eSLR standards). Consistent with the 2013 revised capital rule, advanced approaches banking organizations will be required to disclose their supplementary leverage ratios beginning January 1, 2015, and will be required to comply with a minimum supplementary leverage ratio capital requirement of 3 percent and, as applicable, the eSLR standards beginning January 1, 2018.

This rule is effective on October 1, 2014. Any company subject to the rule may elect to adopt it before this date.

12 CFR Part 3

Summary

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the agencies) are adopting a final rule that revises the definition of eligible guarantee in the agencies' advanced approaches risk-based capital rule, adopted in the agencies' July 2013 regulatory capital rule (2013 capital rule). The final rule removes the requirement that an eligible guarantee be made by an eligible guarantor for purposes of calculating the risk-weighted assets of an exposure (other than a securitization exposure) under the advanced approaches risk-based capital rule as incorporated into the 2013 capital rule (advanced approaches). The change to the definition of eligible guarantee applies to all banks, savings associations, bank holding companies, and savings and loan holding companies that are subject to the advanced approaches.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the agencies) are adopting a final rule that strengthens the agencies' supplementary leverage ratio standards for large, interconnected U.S. banking organizations (the final rule). The final rule applies to any U.S. top-tier bank holding company (BHC) with more than $700 billion in total consolidated assets or more than $10 trillion in assets under custody (covered BHC) and any insured depository institution (IDI) subsidiary of these BHCs (together, covered organizations). In the revised regulatory capital rule adopted by the agencies in July 2013 (2013 revised capital rule), the agencies established a minimum supplementary leverage ratio of 3 percent, consistent with the minimum leverage ratio adopted by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), for banking organizations subject to the agencies' advanced approaches risk-based capital rules. The final rule establishes enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards for covered BHCs and their subsidiary IDIs. Under the final rule, an IDI that is a subsidiary of a covered BHC must maintain a supplementary leverage ratio of at least 6 percent to be well capitalized under the agencies' prompt corrective action (PCA) framework. The Board also is adopting in the final rule a supplementary leverage ratio buffer (leverage buffer) for covered BHCs of 2 percent above the minimum supplementary leverage ratio requirement of 3 percent. The leverage buffer functions like the capital conservation buffer for the risk-based capital ratios in the 2013 revised capital rule. A covered BHC that maintains a leverage buffer of tier 1 capital in an amount greater than 2 percent of its total leverage exposure is not subject to limitations on distributions and discretionary bonus payments under the final rule. Elsewhere in today's Federal Register , the agencies are proposing changes to the 2013 revised capital rule's supplementary leverage ratio, including changes to the definition of total leverage exposure, which would apply to all advanced approaches banking organizations and thus, if adopted, would affect banking organizations subject to this final rule.

This is a list of United States Code sections, Statutes at Large, Public Laws, and Presidential Documents, which provide rulemaking authority for this CFR Part.

This interim final rule is effective January 30, 2015. Comments on the interim final rule must be received on or before March 5, 2015. Comments on the Paperwork Reduction Act burden estimates must be received on or before April 6, 2015.

12 CFR Part 217

Summary

The Board invites comment on an interim final rule that would exempt savings and loan holding companies that have total consolidated assets of less than $500 million and meet certain other requirements from the Board's regulatory capital requirements (Regulation Q). This interim final rule implements a law recently passed by the U.S. Congress, which exempts small savings and loan holding companies from the minimum capital requirements mandated by section 171 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that would meet the Board's Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement if they were bank holding companies. In connection with this interim final rule, the Board is proposing to remove the requirement that qualifying savings and loan holding companies complete Schedule SC-R, Part I (Regulatory Capital Components and Ratios), of form FR Y-9SP (Parent Company Only Financial Statements for Small Holding Companies).

Comments on the proposal must be received on or before March 5, 2015. Comments on the Paperwork Reduction Act burden estimates must be received on or before April 6, 2015.

12 CFR Parts 217, 225, and 238

Summary

The Board is proposing to raise the asset size threshold for determining applicability of the Board's Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement (Regulation Y, Appendix C) (Policy Statement) to $1 billion from $500 million and to expand the scope of the Policy Statement to include savings and loan holding companies that also meet the Policy Statement's requirements. The Board is also proposing to make related and conforming revisions to: Regulation Y and Regulation LL, the Board's regulations governing the operations and activities of bank holding companies and savings and loan holding companies, respectively; and Regulation Q, the Board's regulatory capital regulation. Finally, to reduce burden on small non-complex holding companies, the Board is proposing to change the reporting requirements for bank holding companies and savings and loan holding companies that meet the requirements of the Policy Statement (as proposed).

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Interim final rule with request for comment.

This rule is effective on January 1, 2015. Comments must be received on or before March 3, 2015.

12 CFR Parts 3 and 50

Summary

The OCC and Board (collectively, the agencies) invite comment on an interim final rule that amends the definition of “qualifying master netting agreement” under the regulatory capital rules, and the liquidity coverage ratio rule, as well as under the lending limits rule applicable to national banks and Federal savings associations. The agencies also are proposing to amend the definitions of “collateral agreement,” “eligible margin loan,” and “repo-style transaction” under the regulatory capital rules. The amendments are designed to ensure that the regulatory capital, liquidity, and lending limits treatment of certain financial contracts is not affected by implementation of special resolution regimes in foreign jurisdictions or by the International Swaps and Derivative Association Resolution Stay Protocol.

The Board is inviting public comment on amendments to the Board's revised capital framework (Regulation Q) that would illustrate how the Board would apply the common equity tier 1 capital qualification criteria to depository institution holding companies that are organized in forms other than as stock corporations (“proposed rule”). The proposed rule discusses some of the qualification criteria for common equity tier 1 capital under Regulation Q and provides examples of how the Board would apply the criteria in specific situations involving partnerships and limited liability companies. In addition, the proposed rule would amend Regulation Q to address unique issues presented by certain savings and loan holding companies that are trusts and by depository institution holding companies that are employee stock ownership plans.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the agencies) are seeking comment on an NPR that would clarify, correct, and update aspects of the agencies' regulatory capital rule applicable to banking organizations that are subject to the advanced approaches risk-based capital rule (advanced approaches banking organizations). The proposed revisions are largely driven by observations made by the agencies during the parallel-run review process of advanced approaches banking organizations. They are also intended to enhance consistency of the U.S. regulations with international standards for use of the advanced approaches rule.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) is inviting public comment on a framework to establish risk-based capital surcharges for the largest, most interconnected U.S.-based bank holding companies pursuant to section 165 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The proposal is based upon the international standard adopted by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, modified to reflect systemic risk concerns specific to the funding structures of large U.S. bank holding companies. The proposed framework would require a U.S. top-tier bank holding company with $50 billion or more in total consolidated assets to calculate a measure of its systemic importance and would identify a subset of those companies as global systemically important bank holding companies based on that measure. A global systemically important bank holding company would be subject to a risk-based capital surcharge that would increase its capital conservation buffer under the Board's regulatory capital rule. The proposed framework would be phased in beginning on January 1, 2016 through year-end 2018, becoming fully effective on January 1, 2019. The proposal would also revise the terminology used to identify the firms subject to the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards to ensure consistency of the scopes of application of both rulemakings.

In May 2014, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the agencies) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR or proposed rule) to revise the definition of the denominator of the supplementary leverage ratio (total leverage exposure) that the agencies adopted in July 2013 as part of comprehensive revisions to the agencies' regulatory capital rules (2013 revised capital rule). The agencies are adopting the proposed rule as final (final rule) with certain revisions and clarifications based on comments received on the proposed rule. The final rule revises total leverage exposure as defined in the 2013 revised capital rule to include the effective notional principal amount of credit derivatives and other similar instruments through which a banking organization provides credit protection (sold credit protection); modifies the calculation of total leverage exposure for derivative and repo-style transactions; and revises the credit conversion factors applied to certain off-balance sheet exposures. The final rule also changes the frequency with which certain components of the supplementary leverage ratio are calculated and establishes the public disclosure requirements of certain items associated with the supplementary leverage ratio. The final rule applies to all banks, savings associations, bank holding companies, and savings and loan holding companies (banking organizations) that are subject to the agencies' advanced approaches risk-based capital rules, as defined in the 2013 revised capital rule (advanced approaches banking organizations), including advanced approaches banking organizations that are subject to the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards that the agencies finalized in May 2014 (eSLR standards). Consistent with the 2013 revised capital rule, advanced approaches banking organizations will be required to disclose their supplementary leverage ratios beginning January 1, 2015, and will be required to comply with a minimum supplementary leverage ratio capital requirement of 3 percent and, as applicable, the eSLR standards beginning January 1, 2018.

This rule is effective on October 1, 2014. Any company subject to the rule may elect to adopt it before this date.

12 CFR Part 3

Summary

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the agencies) are adopting a final rule that revises the definition of eligible guarantee in the agencies' advanced approaches risk-based capital rule, adopted in the agencies' July 2013 regulatory capital rule (2013 capital rule). The final rule removes the requirement that an eligible guarantee be made by an eligible guarantor for purposes of calculating the risk-weighted assets of an exposure (other than a securitization exposure) under the advanced approaches risk-based capital rule as incorporated into the 2013 capital rule (advanced approaches). The change to the definition of eligible guarantee applies to all banks, savings associations, bank holding companies, and savings and loan holding companies that are subject to the advanced approaches.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the agencies) are adopting a final rule that strengthens the agencies' supplementary leverage ratio standards for large, interconnected U.S. banking organizations (the final rule). The final rule applies to any U.S. top-tier bank holding company (BHC) with more than $700 billion in total consolidated assets or more than $10 trillion in assets under custody (covered BHC) and any insured depository institution (IDI) subsidiary of these BHCs (together, covered organizations). In the revised regulatory capital rule adopted by the agencies in July 2013 (2013 revised capital rule), the agencies established a minimum supplementary leverage ratio of 3 percent, consistent with the minimum leverage ratio adopted by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), for banking organizations subject to the agencies' advanced approaches risk-based capital rules. The final rule establishes enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards for covered BHCs and their subsidiary IDIs. Under the final rule, an IDI that is a subsidiary of a covered BHC must maintain a supplementary leverage ratio of at least 6 percent to be well capitalized under the agencies' prompt corrective action (PCA) framework. The Board also is adopting in the final rule a supplementary leverage ratio buffer (leverage buffer) for covered BHCs of 2 percent above the minimum supplementary leverage ratio requirement of 3 percent. The leverage buffer functions like the capital conservation buffer for the risk-based capital ratios in the 2013 revised capital rule. A covered BHC that maintains a leverage buffer of tier 1 capital in an amount greater than 2 percent of its total leverage exposure is not subject to limitations on distributions and discretionary bonus payments under the final rule. Elsewhere in today's Federal Register , the agencies are proposing changes to the 2013 revised capital rule's supplementary leverage ratio, including changes to the definition of total leverage exposure, which would apply to all advanced approaches banking organizations and thus, if adopted, would affect banking organizations subject to this final rule.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the agencies) are issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking (proposed rule) that would revise the denominator of the supplementary leverage ratio (total leverage exposure) that the agencies adopted in July 2013 as part of comprehensive revisions to the agencies' regulatory capital rules (2013 revised capital rule). Specifically, the proposed rule would revise the treatment of on- and off-balance sheet exposures for purposes of determining total leverage exposure, and more closely align the agencies' rules on the calculation of total leverage exposure with international leverage ratio standards. The proposed rule would incorporate in total leverage exposure the effective notional principal amount of credit derivatives and other similar instruments through which a banking organization provides credit protection (sold credit protection), modify the calculation of total leverage exposure for derivatives and repo-style transactions, and revise the credit conversion factors (CCFs) applied to certain off-balance sheet exposures. The proposed rule also would make changes to the methodology for calculating the supplementary leverage ratio and to the public disclosure requirements for the supplementary leverage ratio. The proposed rule would apply to all banks, savings associations, bank holding companies, and savings and loan holding companies (banking organizations) that are subject to the agencies' advanced approaches risk-based capital rules (advanced approaches banking organizations), as defined in the 2013 revised capital rule, including advanced approaches banking organizations that are subject to the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards that the agencies have adopted in final form and published elsewhere in today's Federal Register (the eSLR standards). Consistent with the 2013 revised capital rule, advanced approaches banking organizations will be required to disclose their supplementary leverage ratios beginning January 1, 2015, and will be required to comply with a minimum supplementary leverage ratio capital requirement of 3 percent and, as applicable, the eSLR standards beginning January 1, 2018. The agencies are seeking comment on all aspects of the proposed rule.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the agencies) are seeking comment on a notice of proposed rulemaking (proposed rule) that would revise the definition of eligible guarantee as incorporated into the agencies' advanced approaches risk-based capital rule, adopted in the agencies' July 2013 regulatory capital rule (2013 capital rule). The agencies inadvertently limited the recognition of guarantees of wholesale exposures under the advanced approaches risk-based capital rule as incorporated into subpart E of the 2013 capital rule (advanced approaches). To address this matter, the proposed rule would remove the requirement that an eligible guarantee be made by an eligible guarantor for purposes of calculating the risk-weighted assets of an exposure (other than a securitization exposure) under the advanced approaches. The proposed change to the definition of eligible guarantee would apply to all banks, savings associations, bank holding companies, and savings and loan holding companies that are subject to the advanced approaches.